Prospect of the Week: April 25, 2013

We continue our Prospect of the Week award, an honor (virtually) given to one Tampa Bay Lightning prospect for their recent contributions on and off the ice.

The Prospect of the Week for April 25 is … Tyler Johnson[6], C, Syracuse (AHL – USA).

Repeat.

For the second year in a row, a prospect in the Tampa Bay Lightning organization won the AHL’s Most Valuable Player Award as Tyler Johnson of the Syracuse Crunch was given the honor last week. Johnson follows Cory Conacher[7], last year's winner, as the second Bolt prospect to win the award. Conacher has since moved on to the Ottawa Senators organization via trade.

Johnson was named MVP last Friday, then promptly went out and scored a hat trick and four points that night just to erase any doubts he was the clear winner. He added a goal the next night to finish the week with four goals, one assist, the league MVP award, and our Prospect of the Week award.

Johnson’s former AHL coach, Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning, wasn’t surprised “in the slightest” to learn of Johnson’s performance after the award. He said Johnson clearly earned the title as league MVP.

We never asked Cooper his thoughts on Johnson winning the Bolt Prospect of the Week award. He was in a hurry (yeah, that’s it).

A natural center, Johnson finished the AHL regular season with a league-leading 37 goals and 65 points in 62 games. He added three goals and six points in 14 games with the Lightning.

Johnson is expected to compete for a spot with the Lightning this fall, after he and his Crunch teammates are finished with their playoff run this spring. They open this week against Portland in Round 1. The Lightning organization is hoping for a repeat of an AHL championship, too.

We rank Johnson No. 2 among Bolt prospects. We feel he is good at the hockey.